Operation Torch: The American Amphibious Assault on French Morocco, 1942

Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa in World War II, set the United States Army firmly on the course it was to follow in the war and decisively ended strategic debates on how the war should be fought. Commencing 8 November 1942, Torch committed the Army to a Mediterranean strategy for at least a year, prejudicing the buildup of forces in the United Kingdom and abrogating any chance of a major attack on Europe across the English Channel in 1943.  

The strategic issues surrounding President Franklin D. Roosevelt's highly political decision that American troops had to go into action against the Germans in 1942 have been thoroughly and thoughtfully discussed. Operation Torch also had important consequences at the institutional level, however. The Army entered World War II with established doctrine for command and staff planning of joint operations, procedures the service virtually ignored from the start of the planning for Torch.  

INTRODUCTION 1

STRATEGIC SETTING  2

FRENCH NORTH AFRICA IN 1942 4

PLANNING TORCH  4

TORCH LOGISTICS 5

JOINT PLANNING AND PREPARATIONS AT HAMPTON ROADS 7

COMMANDERS’ CALL BEFORE CROSSING 12

THE ATLANTIC CROSSING 14

OPERATION TORCH LANDINGS: SAFI 1

OPERATION TORCH LANDINGS: FEDALA 27

OPERATION TORCH LANDINGS: MEHDIA–PORT LYAUTEY 39

THE MEDITERRANEAN LANDINGS: SUMMARY OF CENTER AND EASTERN TASK FORCES 47

ANALYSIS 51

Military historians, WWII historians, veterans, family members of WWII veterans.